Verizon May Get the iPhone & More Consumer Buzz

MainStreet is here to provide you with a quick roundup of the biggest consumer stories in the news this morning. Read this and you’ll be set for all your water cooler conversations at the office today.

Is the iPhone Finally Coming to Verizon? The Wall Street Journal reported today that Apple’s (Stock Quote: AAPL) iPhone could be coming to Verizon (Stock Quote: VZ) a little sooner than expected. (Currently, it is only available on AT&T, much to the chagrin of many users.) Several anonymous sources told the Journal that Apple is developing a new version of the iPhone to be released this summer (that alone is reason enough to rejoice) and apparently this phone will “work on a type of wireless network called CDMA,” which is what Verizon uses. Could this spell the end of AT&T (Stock Quote: T)?

Wal-Mart Has a Bad Week: Yes, Wal-Mart (Stock Quote: WMT) is still king of the retail world, but even the king can have a few bad days. The company has been forced to pay $9 million to a shopper who was humiliated in the store when employees wrongly accused her of trying to cash in counterfeit Wal-Mart money orders. Then, there was the incident of the rowdy teenager who jumped on the PA system in a New Jersey Wal-Mart and commanded that “All black people leave the store now.” This is shaping up to be another dramatic year for Wal-Mart.

The Money Wasters: The Republican party has repeatedly stated that one of the reasons they are against health care is that it may prove too expensive and could bankrupt the country. So it’s nice to see they apply that same commitment to fiscal restraint to their own budget. Take Michael Steele, the Chairman of the Republican Party. He reportedly spent thousands of dollars of the Republican National Committee’s money on private jets, limousines and, uh, lesbian strippers? Apparently, Steele spent nearly $2,000 at the Voyeur West Hollywood in Los Angeles, an X-rated bondage-themed nightclub. Maybe it was just a business expense – after all, Steele does want to expand the Republican base into new demographics.